In crisp blue jeans and a button-down shirt, Gary Smith looks as at home in his office as he does on the production floor of Construction Equipment Company. Although international in philosophy and product placement, being at home is something that CEC owners Gary and Roger Smith value highly. When they needed more manufacturing capability, they opened a new facility in Sheridan. “It was far less expensive to expand in Yamhill County than it was to build in Tualatin, but what really helped us decide on the Sheridan facility was the assistance we were given through the City Manager. And 70% of our workforce already lived in Yamhill County.”

Indeed, positions were easy to fill at the new facility. “What we’ve found in Yamhill County is a ready and willing workforce. The talented welders and fitters out here far exceeded our expectations and adapted easily into the lean manufacturing program.” This quality workforce allowed active on-shoring efforts, moving jobs here from overseas and out-of-state. “We expected to employ 14 people the first year,” Gary recalls. “Within six months, we were up to 28.”

CEC ships rock crushing and screening equipment nationally and to over 30 foreign countries, including Africa. “In the northern part of Cameroon, where there’s absolutely nothing, the facility’s actually building everything from roads to a town in order to harvest the oil that they found,” Gary says.

Gary may be all business on the production floor, but off the clock is another story. “The fun thing about Yamhill County is it offers tremendous recreation opportunities, from mud-dragging to fly-fishing to golfing.”

Building Machines by Building Teams

“Lean production is a turn-key operation,” says Plant Manager, Wade Curry, speaking up to be heard over the hum of a busy production floor. “The guys come to work in the morning and are ready to go. You don’t have to instruct each one on what they’re doing.” What’s more, Wade’s workers are trained in multiple techniques and encouraged to be active participants in all aspects of production. “If some part of a project is a struggle, we’ll pull a bunch of guys together – from the other office, the warehouse, the shop, engineers – and we’ll figure out what we can do differently. If we mix all their minds together, we’re going to come up with some great ideas.” Lean manufacturing, a philosophy imported from Japan, also keeps the shop level-loaded, owner Gary Smith adds. “We may have two projects that take a lot of workforce or as many as seven projects that take a lesser workforce. We’re able to add and subtract projects at will and make sure that everybody has a project to work on.”

New CEC Sales Manager, Jimmy Mitchell. Jimmy brings to this position 20+ years of excellent product knowledge and customer service. Starting in October 1996 as a shop mechanic, Jimmy has held positions throughout the years to include, welder/fabricator, national & international field mechanic, warranty manager, parts and equipment sales.

I am pleased to announce that Primary Machinery LLC has joined forces with Construction Equipment Co as CEC’s manufacturing rep in marketing and selling our entire product line.

Primary Machinery specializes in selling of new and used wood recycling, chipping, screening, crushing and land clearing equipment. From Domestic to International Sales, they are there to help you on all your equipment needs. Their team is dedicated to making sure that you are never anything less than satisfied. All of their experience in the industry combined adds up to 30+ years, which allows them to help you make the right choices when it comes to selecting equipment.

Starting in 1981, Construction Equipment Company (CEC) has been a leader in the manufacturing of heavy equipment, specializing in high-quality rock crushing, screening, and conveyor systems for quarry, mining, and recycling operations serving dealers and direct customers worldwide.

CEC Carra-Cel Vertical Shaft Crusher is is built in Sheridan, Oregon. The Model 70 can operate from 150 to 300 horsepower, depending on the job to be done. 1 to 1.5 tons per hour per horsepower thru-put. The Carra-Cel VSI produces different fine rock products. Typical products would be 3/4″ x 0, 1/4″ x #10, and #10 minus. The crusher will also produce manufactured sand. In addition the VSI will significantly increase base rock production without additional labor. The table uses three big wear pins at each port exit. The rotating 36″ table accelerates the rock out of the table against the rock cell in a rolling motion across the cell face. Additional discharge of rock impacts the rolling rock, breaking it into a cubical product. In-air rock collision also reduces the rock to size. The construction of the table and rock cell pins allow above average production and low cost operation. Feed size is 2½” x¼” with a preferred top size of 3″.
The “Breaker Block Rock Cel” will produce a product with less fine and works well where fines are not available to pack the rock on rock cell.You can change cells in less than two hours.
The Model 70 Carra-Cel can be equipped with a variable speed drive system that will control the table speed. This allows you increase or decrease fines at the touch of a switch. Variable speed is expensive, but normally pays for itself in six to twelve months. Additional finished product per hour is a result of improved speed.
Equip your CEC Model 70 Carra-Cel with a variable frequency drive. You can then select the exact speed of the table to achieve your best production. Increased production will pay for the “VFD” drive the first year.

CEC Introduces the New Diesel-Powered 4×8 Screen-It®
In an age when the scope and overall market trends in the screening business are evolving, CEC is adapting to meet those changes head on. In light of changing market demands, CEC has designed and built the answer—the new CEC 4×8 Diesel Screen-It.

The 4×8 Diesel Screen-It is a commercial-grade, self-contained, portable screen that produces high quality material at a price that companies can more easily afford. It’s small and light enough to tow behind a modern diesel work truck, yet still maintains CEC’s strength. Second, it has a feed height capable of allowing customers to load it with a standard skid-steer loader, no ramp necessary. Third, it’s easy to operate while still producing a high quality, sellable finished product.

On February 22, 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand leaving 185 people dead ¹, and making it the third costliest earthquake, ever, worldwide.
All of the destruction caused by the deadly quake included more than $15 billion NZ for insurers to rebuild, but the rebuilding could not start until the debris was taken away.
Cement, brick, plastic, paper, wood, drywall… Separating all of the material looked like quite a daunting task at first glance.
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
Nikau Contractors, Ltd. is a demolition and salvage company out of New Zealand. They have been in business for 31 years and specialize in this type of processing. They had been in contact with CEC regarding a Separate-It® RWS 2000 Rock/ Wood Separator prior; but it was only a few days after the quake that a Nikau rep was back in contact with an understandable new sense of urgency for the plant.
Separate-It® RWS 2000 in Christchurch
Once the Separate-It® arrived in New Zealand, it had much work to do. The quake left one third of the buildings in Christchurch facing demolition². Businesses, government offices, residential neighborhoods and churches- one of the worst natural disasters in New Zealand’s history did not discriminate.
Feedpile of Earthquake Debris

According to The National Association of Home Builders, between two-thirds to four-fifths of homes in the United States have roofs made of asphalt shingles. The average life span of an asphalt shingle roof in the U.S. is 15-30 years, depending on area of the country in which the home is located.
The significance of these statistics becomes very important when you consider that approximately 11 million tons of asphalt shingle waste is generated in the U.S. each year¹.
What happens to all of that waste?
In the days of yesteryear, the old shingles would have been removed from the home site and simply thrown in a landfill. However, landfills are getting full, dump fees are rising, and the general public is more environmentally aware than ever before.
Enter Asphalt Shingle Recycling- from roof to road, this process is cost-saving and environmentally friendly. The process saves landfill space, reduces our carbon footprint, and saves municipalities’ precious budget money for new roadwork.

Let’s start from the beginning and take a look at how the typical recycling process works:
When an asphalt shingle roof is removed from a home, the recyclable materials (shingles, paper, nails) are separated from the rest of the on-site waste. The shingles are taken to a recycling facility, where the material is tested for Asbestos. If no Asbestos is found, the shingles are prepared for recycling. The shingles are run through a grinder and fed through a screen plant. The screen plant separates the product into particles that are an acceptable size for hot asphalt paving, and those that are not. The large particles can then be run through the grinder again and made to spec.
Why a CEC Screen-It®?
The CEC Screen-It® is ideal for the Recycling Asphalt Shingle (RAS) process because of the shake and angle of the screen box. Material floats down the screens allowing it to pass through the screen cloth, as opposed to being forced through a trommel screen. A magnetic head pulley can also be used during processing to remove any metal left in the mix. More deck time to screen any paper and plastic, and a magnet to remove metal means a pure end product.
The finished product has many uses: it can be added into hot mix asphalt for road paving, mixed with aggregates for the base of new roads, and used for road patch repair.
¹ U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response “Tearoff Asphalt Shingle Recycling”

Marion County Recycling is working hard to keep its landfill waste to a minimum. Working in partnership with a Covanta waste-to-energy plant in Brooks, Oregon, the county has eliminated the need for more landfill space in the future.
How is this possible?
Curbside waste is burned at the Covanta plant and used for energy. The ash that is created is then taken to the Marion County Landfill, where it is screened and metals are removed with a CEC 5×12 Screen-It and an extensive metal recovery system. Once separated, the county recycles the metal, and the ash is shipped to other landfill facilities for daily cover.
How does this benefit the county?
The metal that is screened is sold and recycled, which creates an additional revenue stream for the county. Over 80% of the ash product is 1/2″ minus, and that can be used for daily cover and shipped off site.
Additional revenue, and less space required for waste, benefits not only the landfill, but the residents of Marion County as well.
To learn more about the Marion County Waste-to-Energy facility,